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Giant Days (Single Issues)
Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special #1
What if Susan, Esther, and Daisy hadn't become friends on their first day of university The world as we know it would be completely different! Or at least...moderately different!
It's the darkest timeline for our favorite students. Daisy is an Enya-blasting hermit, Susan violently dislikes her, and Esther falls in with the awful League of Former Head Girls.
Original artist Lissa Treiman returns for this oversized special with 40 pages of story and art!
It's the darkest timeline for our favorite students. Daisy is an Enya-blasting hermit, Susan violently dislikes her, and Esther falls in with the awful League of Former Head Girls.
Original artist Lissa Treiman returns for this oversized special with 40 pages of story and art!
48 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 26, 2016
6 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
John Allison
311 books832 followersJohn Allison is the author and artist of the British webcomics Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
December 28, 2016
Giant Days Holiday Special is set in a parallel universe where it asks and answer the question: What if Susan, Esther, and Daisy hadn’t become friends on their first day of university? The world as we know it would be completely different! Or at least...moderately different.
By-the-bye, I love that my favorite - Daisy - got to narrate this special edition.
It's a little early for me to get excited about the holidays, but the Giant Days group know how to get me.
So going into this, I was expecting a nice story about friendship and destiny and all that jazz... But I was left feeling confused. This edition decides to focus instead on Esther ending up with a group of "mean girls," which left me pondering if we were supposed to believe that these group of girls were being mean just for the sake of it? Because that story has been told countless times, and I’ve gradually lost interest for such characterization.
I mean:
And:
It just seemed pointless to me to have introduced these characters if they weren't brought to life.
Don't get me wrong, this was definitely a nice little surprise for the holidays, but there were a lot of plot holes that I needed to overlook in order to fully enjoy this special Giant Days Holiday Edition.
However, I still loved Daisy aka the mom friend we all need and love.
And I'm still super excited for volume four to arrive soon. Overall, these group of friends are very near and dear to my heart.
3.5/5 stars
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
By-the-bye, I love that my favorite - Daisy - got to narrate this special edition.
It's a little early for me to get excited about the holidays, but the Giant Days group know how to get me.
So going into this, I was expecting a nice story about friendship and destiny and all that jazz... But I was left feeling confused. This edition decides to focus instead on Esther ending up with a group of "mean girls," which left me pondering if we were supposed to believe that these group of girls were being mean just for the sake of it? Because that story has been told countless times, and I’ve gradually lost interest for such characterization.
I mean:
And:
It just seemed pointless to me to have introduced these characters if they weren't brought to life.
Don't get me wrong, this was definitely a nice little surprise for the holidays, but there were a lot of plot holes that I needed to overlook in order to fully enjoy this special Giant Days Holiday Edition.
However, I still loved Daisy aka the mom friend we all need and love.
And I'm still super excited for volume four to arrive soon. Overall, these group of friends are very near and dear to my heart.
3.5/5 stars
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
January 2, 2017
In the style of Marvel’s What If…? stories, the Watcher-esque cosmic being Day-Zee asks the question: what if… Esther, Daisy and Susan had never been friends?
Giant Days is one of my favourite comics so this was a must-read for me. Is the Holiday Special awesome? Buh, yuh, duh!
The bumper-sized comic starts off a little dark and ends very light so it has that classic Dickens Christmas Carol flavour to it. Esther falls in with the mean girls, Daisy becomes a shut-in, and Susan hooks up with Ed Gemmell! It delivers on its Elseworlds-premise and I loved seeing the familiar crew in the familiar setting yet skewed and unfamiliar at the same time.
While John Allison has done the “Esther joins the mean girls” thing before in Giant Days: Year One, he does more than enough differently elsewhere for this special to stand apart as its own story – McGraw silently crushing on Daisy was such a daaawwww moment! It was great seeing Lissa Treiman returning to draw Giant Days interiors again too (she’s a Disney storyboard artist so she’s usually busy working on movies like Zootopia instead).
The backup story featuring Esther, her family and Desmond Fishman wasn’t as great though (also who’s Desmond Fishman?!). Des steals the de Groots’ Christmas turkey and Esther must recapture it. It’s not bad but it feels oddly flat for Allison, though Caanan Grall’s art was good.
Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special #1 is as funny, sweet and charming as fans have come to expect from the series – a welcome and very enjoyable festive read!
Giant Days is one of my favourite comics so this was a must-read for me. Is the Holiday Special awesome? Buh, yuh, duh!
The bumper-sized comic starts off a little dark and ends very light so it has that classic Dickens Christmas Carol flavour to it. Esther falls in with the mean girls, Daisy becomes a shut-in, and Susan hooks up with Ed Gemmell! It delivers on its Elseworlds-premise and I loved seeing the familiar crew in the familiar setting yet skewed and unfamiliar at the same time.
While John Allison has done the “Esther joins the mean girls” thing before in Giant Days: Year One, he does more than enough differently elsewhere for this special to stand apart as its own story – McGraw silently crushing on Daisy was such a daaawwww moment! It was great seeing Lissa Treiman returning to draw Giant Days interiors again too (she’s a Disney storyboard artist so she’s usually busy working on movies like Zootopia instead).
The backup story featuring Esther, her family and Desmond Fishman wasn’t as great though (also who’s Desmond Fishman?!). Des steals the de Groots’ Christmas turkey and Esther must recapture it. It’s not bad but it feels oddly flat for Allison, though Caanan Grall’s art was good.
Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special #1 is as funny, sweet and charming as fans have come to expect from the series – a welcome and very enjoyable festive read!
May 24, 2021
Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.
This short issue largely focuses on a parallel timeline in which Susan, Daisy, and Esther did not befriend each other on their first days at university and, instead, belonged to different and more troublesome friendship groups, or none at all. This was a fun and short read, even if the conclusion to the girls' issues was a little predictable.
Once the main focus was over, the final few pages featured a short tale during Esther's Christmas at home with her family and seemed a random addition to what had previously featured. I liked this short anecdote rather less than the story delivered before it.
This short issue largely focuses on a parallel timeline in which Susan, Daisy, and Esther did not befriend each other on their first days at university and, instead, belonged to different and more troublesome friendship groups, or none at all. This was a fun and short read, even if the conclusion to the girls' issues was a little predictable.
Once the main focus was over, the final few pages featured a short tale during Esther's Christmas at home with her family and seemed a random addition to what had previously featured. I liked this short anecdote rather less than the story delivered before it.
July 28, 2017
The story of "what if they hadn't been friends" was cool, the one at the end with Esther and the scaly gren dude not so much.
July 4, 2018
I was very much in like with the idea of "what if they didn't meet each other first?" because it did provide a a good parallel idea about all three of the girls while still staying true to the character traits I know amd had this special ended there, I would have rated it the three stars but that side story about the fishman? was odd; not just in story but also oddly placed here.
August 27, 2018
Edit, 2018: it’s revealed in later issues that Daisy (and Esther?) is a woman of colour. So, carry on! 👍🏻
This was everything I've come to love about Giant Days except that the two characters of colour in this - the first two I've seen in the whole series - are part of the antagonistic "Mean Girls" group. So. That's not fun. But the rest of it was.
This was everything I've come to love about Giant Days except that the two characters of colour in this - the first two I've seen in the whole series - are part of the antagonistic "Mean Girls" group. So. That's not fun. But the rest of it was.
November 29, 2016
I was so pumped up to read this but honestly, I am a little bit disappointed. I expected it to be more christmasy and festive. It was also less fun and humorous than the normal issues.
January 18, 2024
Im dalej w las, tym bardziej dochodzę do wniosku, że niezbędny, by żarty w tej serii działały, jest styl głównego rysownika. Niemniej, nadal mi to poprawiło humor i bez rozwlekania ponad standardowy odcinek, ujęło temat całkiem przyzwoicie.
January 16, 2018
I liked the whole "what if" scenario, with Esther throwing everything into chaos just by hanging with the wrong crowd. I also thought it was cute how McGraw was a) plotting revenge showing that he and Susan DO belong together and b) being very sweet to Daisy. Though Susan and Ed? Not sure I buy it... slave? Yes. Sex slave? No. But WTF was that Fishman thing? Really!?! Also a tad overpriced for what you get.
March 5, 2018
Giant Days never fails to please. This Holiday Special tells the story of what would happen of our favourite trio did not become friends at the start of school. The answer is there would still be shenanigans :) I love seeing the original artist on this one, and enjoyed the silly, zany non-canon adventure. I'm going to pretend the second story didn't exist as it was weird and inexplicable (Esther and a literal fishman? WTF).
December 8, 2016
A story where Daisy, Esther, and Susan didn't meet on the first day of school. It is like a weird twilight zone episode but they eventually find each other. There is a weird story about a fisherman that Esther invites for Christmas. The first story was interesting, the second wasn't that great, and I wanted more Christmas stuff involved.
January 12, 2019
A fun look at the darkest timeline: What if Daisy, Esther and Susan never became friends?
This is definitely not for the uninitiated, but it is a nice ElseWorlds-esque one-off, and the original penciler coming back is fantastic. This is one of the weaker entries, sure, but is worth a look for series fans.
This is definitely not for the uninitiated, but it is a nice ElseWorlds-esque one-off, and the original penciler coming back is fantastic. This is one of the weaker entries, sure, but is worth a look for series fans.
December 30, 2016
What an acid trip! Silly and fun. The fishman addendum - whuuuut?! I heart Giant Days.
November 28, 2017
Loved the 'what if' scenario, but what the hell was the fish-man-thing story??
April 7, 2018
Lovely issue, but a little meh ending.
I like this what if? types of stories.
I like this what if? types of stories.
November 26, 2018
If this was a Christmas Carol it would be - I don't know - silent night when you're expecting Jingle Bells?
Wow, wow, wow! I'm soooo disappointed by this special! The holidays are my favourite time of year and I always look forward to my holiday reading hauls but this one fell REALLY flat. Almost boring!
Like most reviewers I was totally perplexed by the Fisherman story which sort of hit you in the face with it's poor timing but was willing to be forgiving since it was basically just a shout out to the makers other works. Unfortunately the main story lacked any dazzle too though. The alternative universe was an interesting concept but it wasn't bizarre enough to be rememberable seeing as the girls essentially kept their usual quirks. There was very few changes made to their parallel selves and the story itself lacked any real adventure. Of course, we all knew how this one was going to end. The issues lack of festivity was the icing on the sugar-free, gluten-free, fun-free cake for me, which made this feel like an uninspired print in it's usual run.
I'm not usually so harsh on Giant Days because I truly love this series. I feel guilty for evening considering giving it so few stars but I was absolutely gutted at the end of this. I'm holding out hope for the next one!
Wow, wow, wow! I'm soooo disappointed by this special! The holidays are my favourite time of year and I always look forward to my holiday reading hauls but this one fell REALLY flat. Almost boring!
Like most reviewers I was totally perplexed by the Fisherman story which sort of hit you in the face with it's poor timing but was willing to be forgiving since it was basically just a shout out to the makers other works. Unfortunately the main story lacked any dazzle too though. The alternative universe was an interesting concept but it wasn't bizarre enough to be rememberable seeing as the girls essentially kept their usual quirks. There was very few changes made to their parallel selves and the story itself lacked any real adventure. Of course, we all knew how this one was going to end. The issues lack of festivity was the icing on the sugar-free, gluten-free, fun-free cake for me, which made this feel like an uninspired print in it's usual run.
I'm not usually so harsh on Giant Days because I truly love this series. I feel guilty for evening considering giving it so few stars but I was absolutely gutted at the end of this. I'm holding out hope for the next one!
December 20, 2016
Definitely appreciated the return of Tremain's artwork as well as the tongue-in-cheek parallel Watcher universe, but it all was a bit too similar to the John Allison "origin story" of Giant Days, in which you actually got to see those same girls try and recruit Esther. More Christmas, please! And I never really missed Des.
May 22, 2020
The part 1 about an alternate universe was fine. The fish-man part was a bit confusing...
October 20, 2017
Not sure what that was.
June 12, 2018
Totally not the season for this one, but I just couldn't wait until it was December. So Christmas in June it is!
This was such a delightful issue. Though I have to say that I loved the first one, didn't like the second one that much (it was just not for me).
The first story is about the what-ifs. What if Susan, Esther, and Daisy hadn't become friends on that first day of university? What if something happened that made them not connect together. Something like DAY-ZEE (you may guess who this DAY-ZEE is) blocking Esther's pass and thus her not helping out Daisy and thus Esther ending with the mean girls of the university and Daisy becoming a hermit. It was definitely interesting to see the girls not together, and also quite at war at each other. Daisy is being bullied by the mean girls, Susan hates the mean girls for various reasons, and is not all too happy about Daisy cranking up Enya all day. :P Daisy, girl, if you feel crappy maybe something more rockish or metalish works better than Enya. Don't get me wrong, I adore Enya, but it is not something I would turn up if I feel shitty. I just adored seeing this alternate universe and it certainly was interesting. Neither girl was that happy (well, Susan was just her old grumpy self). I liked that this story shows us that destined and fated forever friendships are not to be stopped. These girls will become friends, even if the universe has thrown some obstacles in their path to each other. How they get together was just a delight and I was cheering for them all.
I loved that the POV switched from girl to girl. We see Esther and her new friends getting drunk and high all the time (and no Esther is not having a good time), Daisy is trying to survive university, Susan is trying not to tackle the Enya blasting neighbour (Daisy) and also tries to make Christmas something for her and Ed.
Their plan to give a bit of karma to the mean girls was fun, though McCraw certainly took away the price for best revenge. Dang boy, that is just way too epic. *claps*
I loved the ending, oh boy I hadn't expected that to happen. Poor Daisy. Christmas decorations are dangerous!
The second story was just too weird and I just didn't like it at all. Some weird fishgirl/boy steals a turkey, gets invited, and then later that happens? Whut? They could have skipped this one and just let the issue end with the main story.
The art, well at least in the first story, was fabulous. I just love it! All in all, I guess I will be reading the other Holiday special in a bit as I am in the mood for more Giant Days.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
This was such a delightful issue. Though I have to say that I loved the first one, didn't like the second one that much (it was just not for me).
The first story is about the what-ifs. What if Susan, Esther, and Daisy hadn't become friends on that first day of university? What if something happened that made them not connect together. Something like DAY-ZEE (you may guess who this DAY-ZEE is) blocking Esther's pass and thus her not helping out Daisy and thus Esther ending with the mean girls of the university and Daisy becoming a hermit. It was definitely interesting to see the girls not together, and also quite at war at each other. Daisy is being bullied by the mean girls, Susan hates the mean girls for various reasons, and is not all too happy about Daisy cranking up Enya all day. :P Daisy, girl, if you feel crappy maybe something more rockish or metalish works better than Enya. Don't get me wrong, I adore Enya, but it is not something I would turn up if I feel shitty. I just adored seeing this alternate universe and it certainly was interesting. Neither girl was that happy (well, Susan was just her old grumpy self). I liked that this story shows us that destined and fated forever friendships are not to be stopped. These girls will become friends, even if the universe has thrown some obstacles in their path to each other. How they get together was just a delight and I was cheering for them all.
I loved that the POV switched from girl to girl. We see Esther and her new friends getting drunk and high all the time (and no Esther is not having a good time), Daisy is trying to survive university, Susan is trying not to tackle the Enya blasting neighbour (Daisy) and also tries to make Christmas something for her and Ed.
Their plan to give a bit of karma to the mean girls was fun, though McCraw certainly took away the price for best revenge. Dang boy, that is just way too epic. *claps*
I loved the ending, oh boy I hadn't expected that to happen. Poor Daisy. Christmas decorations are dangerous!
The second story was just too weird and I just didn't like it at all. Some weird fishgirl/boy steals a turkey, gets invited, and then later that happens? Whut? They could have skipped this one and just let the issue end with the main story.
The art, well at least in the first story, was fabulous. I just love it! All in all, I guess I will be reading the other Holiday special in a bit as I am in the mood for more Giant Days.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
June 7, 2018
Okay, so holiday/annual issues can go one of two ways: they can either be really interesting or really weird. This one is a bit of both, but mostly the latter. It’s still a fun read and probably worth sitting down and enjoying.
Obviously you can tell by the cover that it’s a winter holiday, you know, because of the snow and all. This issue is all about what would have happened to our three ladies if they hadn’t ended up living together that first year. It’s crazy seeing how different their lives would have been, and I don’t think I mean that in a good way. While they may be chaotic at times, clearly they’re all very good for each other.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Obviously you can tell by the cover that it’s a winter holiday, you know, because of the snow and all. This issue is all about what would have happened to our three ladies if they hadn’t ended up living together that first year. It’s crazy seeing how different their lives would have been, and I don’t think I mean that in a good way. While they may be chaotic at times, clearly they’re all very good for each other.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
May 7, 2017
Prvi del o vzporedni resničnosti - kaj bi se zgodil če se nebi one tri nikoli spoprijateljile ko so prišle na šolo -mi je bil zlo zlo všeč, pa kako zlo nism marov Estherinig novih prjatlc in kok fino je blo ko na koncu le pridejo skup tud v vzporednem svetu in one zlobke napihnjene padejo s svojega prestola :)
Druga zgodba pa mi ni bla nevemkaj, niti narisano ni blo prov k je bla ena druga nova ... beh :)
Druga zgodba pa mi ni bla nevemkaj, niti narisano ni blo prov k je bla ena druga nova ... beh :)
June 3, 2018
The “parallel world” story was quite good and a lot of fun. It’s just the tacked on story at the very end of this book was really bad and just so unnecessary. I generally at least like all the stories I’ve seen so far, but now I’ve found one I didn’t like. It’s still very much worth the read for the main story, though. The other one, however, is better skipped.
November 25, 2018
McGraw likes Daisy, Ed ans Susan? What happened to the world?!
I accept McGraw and Daisy in the parallel universe thing, they are both helpful and hardworking and actually like each other as friends, but that's no the deal with Ed and Susan.
I'm still heartbroken about the new illustrator, so I'm so grateful for this.
I accept McGraw and Daisy in the parallel universe thing, they are both helpful and hardworking and actually like each other as friends, but that's no the deal with Ed and Susan.
I'm still heartbroken about the new illustrator, so I'm so grateful for this.
February 25, 2019
A parallel universe where Esther, Susan and Daisy aren't friends? Sign me up!!!!!! although, i can't imagine a world where these three aren't making mistakes throughout their college years.
I'm digging McGraw with his beard *BIG HEART EYES*
I'm digging McGraw with his beard *BIG HEART EYES*
September 18, 2020
„Giant Days“ is my drug of choice if I feel sick or overwhelmed. It‘s just great comfort food. But as with all comfort food it would not be satisfying if it was only for empty calories. A surprisingly positive outlook on our friend’s lifes without each other
October 11, 2023
Es interesante y triste saber que sucedería si las tres no se conocieran, básicamente te cuenta que las tres se complementan y que sin la una no existe la otra. Me pareció gracioso lo del hombre pez y el final de la alfombra
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2017
Loved it
August 12, 2017
Hilarious. LOOOVED!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews